About Us

+ About FKMCD

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District is a special purpose district authorized to control the presence of mosquitoes within Monroe County. By using necessary maintenance and improvements to help support the health, comfort, welfare, and prosperity of the people thereof, the FKMCD has been established for public health and other public purposes.

An important part of FKMCD’s mission is to protect residents in the Florida Keys from the disease-transmitting mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The FKMCD have monitored the presence of the Aedes aegypti closely and have seen a development of resistance to some of the current control methods. FKMCD partnered with Oxitec due to the need for new tools to combat this mosquito. And given the unique ecosystem in the Florida Keys, those tools need to be safe, environmentally friendly, and targeted. FKMCD is collaborating with Oxitec on this project, which has full approval from the US EPA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

+ About Oxitec

Oxitec is an impact-driven company comprised of passionate people who share a mission to develop safe, effective solutions to enable communities to control disease-carrying and crop-destroying insects at scale. Oxitec’s insect technology has been deployed for 15 years around the world with strong support from governments, foundations, international organizations and communities alike. In the US, Oxitec has previously deployed agricultural insects with the approval of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), demonstrating safety, efficacy and high levels of public acceptance. With more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications focused on its technology, and with high approval ratings from communities across countries and deployments, Oxitec’s technology is one of the most studied and tested insect-based technologies globally.

Oxitec is strongly committed to transparency, quality, and safety. Oxitec has made available on its website a large selection of the 100+ scientific studies and peer-reviewed articles relating to Oxitec’s technology and its performance, safety, deployment methods, genetics, and other features. In all its work worldwide, Oxitec operates in close partnerships with local governments and communities, prioritizing transparency, open communications and information-sharing with all stakeholders.

+ About the Aedes aegypti mosquito

Aedes aegypti are invasive mosquitoes, not native to the United States, which carry and spread harmful diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya. In recent years the Florida Keys have seen locally transmitted cases of dengue and travel-related cases of Zika. The local invasive Aedes aegypti makes up approximately 4% of the mosquito population in the Keys, but is responsible for virtually all the mosquito-borne disease transmission.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is an increasingly global threat, now living alongside half of the world’s population. After decades of effort, there is still no cure or specific treatment for many diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti, and public health agencies are trying to stop these devastating diseases at their common source: by controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquito itself.

Unfortunately, existing methods of controlling Aedes aegypti, such as spraying or fogging using chemical insecticides, have failed to prevent the spread of disease. This is partly because Aedes aegypti has developed resistance to insecticides, rendering many common chemicals less effective controlling the mosquito, it is also an aggressive day-biter and thrives in urban environments.

For more information about the Aedes aegypti mosquito, click here; and for a recently published study on the growing threat that Aedes aegypti is posing to a number of US communities, please click here. For more information on dengue in the US, click here.